I don’t think that Irsay is quite that nefarious and Machiavellian, however. Instead, I think Tressel will provide some helpful advice and could possibly take on a larger role in the organization at some point down the road.

At the very least, it is great that Tressel is starting prior to a tough game against the New Orleans Saints this Sunday. That way, Colts fans will have something else to think about instead of the pummelling that they are sure to receive at the hands of Drew Brees and Co.

Below are a couple of the most egregious of the Colts flaws at this juncture in the season. These three faults are the key reasons why Indy will fall to New Orleans this Sunday.

The Colts secondary is awful. Jacob Lacey is a wretched option in coverage and Terrence Johnson is just slightly better. Antoine Bethea and Jerraud Powers are the only legitimate guys who could be starters in the secondary on other teams.

The Colts offense is too predictable and the play-calling has been so vanilla that the chocolate and strawberry are getting scared. Curtis Painter has played well under center, but the offensive line sometimes doesn’t give him enough time to plant his feet and get his throws downfield. The rushing offense has been good in spots, but they aren’t dominating. The Kansas City game (when Joseph Addai went out) showed that they still had a ways to go to become a solid running team.

The Colts special teams are putrid. They struggle in kick return coverage and can’t make any hay returning kicks themselves. This disadvantage constantly puts both their offense and defense in bad spots and hamstrings squads that need all the help that they can get.

It’s been tough to be a Colts fan. Peyton Manning covered a multitude of failings on the team. His loss is acutely felt and the Colts need to improve across the board next year if they want to push for another Super Bowl with Manning at the helm.

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